A spaceport could be constructed in Abu Dhabi in two years time as Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson deepens ties with the UAE capital.
The British entrepreneur told The National that his firm is in talks investors and plans to develop a ‘space facility’ were going ahead.
“It’s all very exciting on a number of levels. We can have people in space, we can put a whole array of satellites in space, which would have a big effect on global telecommunications. I hope we’ll have a space hub in Abu Dhabi in a couple of years,” he told the newspaper.
Branson was in the UAE yesterday to speak at the Dubai Government Summit. He said his family would be on board the inaugural Virgin Galactic flight, which takes off from New Mexico, USA, next summer.
Virgin Galactic’s commercial director admitted that an Abu Dhabi spaceport was part of the company’s vision but the current focus is to complete the SpaceShipTwo program, which is still being developed.